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Wednesday, 4 August 2010

Content strategy resources

Too many websites get built without a clear focus. Or once they're handed over for ongoing management, whatever focus there was gets lost in the day-to-day grind. Content strategy isn't necessarily easy, but it's a key contributor to an effective, lean and focused website.

Content is the most valuable part of your website. It's the hardest working part. It's what gets most attention from your website visitors. It's what builds the brand; it's what makes the sale; it's what keeps you from answering the same query in person over and over again.

And yet it's what we - university website owners - often give the least attention to. It's what we are reticent to plan in a coherent way and manage effectively on an ongoing basis.

A few introductory articles, including how to do content strategy and some resources to help...

I read 'Content Strategy for the Web' by Kristina Halvorson a few months back. As much as anything, it makes a case for the discipline's existence. It's an interesting read and references some writers and experts I respect.

While I think it's a good read for managers of large, information-driven websites in some ways I don't quite see content strategy as anything more than one important aspect of an information architect's role.